Peter Jackson to be Honored with Walk of Fame Star

The news first came in June that Peter Jackson, New Zealand born director/producer of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, would be receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the day of the ceremony has been announced as December 8. According to the New Zealand Herald, Jackson will be getting “prime real estate,” with his star sitting outside the Dolby Theater, home of the Academy Awards.

“We are very happy to honor such an esteemed filmmaker as Peter Jackson with a star on the Walk of Fame,” producer of the Walk of Fame ceremonies, Ana Martinez, said. “His groundbreaking and award-winning films are part of the legacy of larger-than-life, Hollywood-style entertainment that is beloved the world over.”

There’s no mistaking that Jackson deserves the honor. His first successful feature film was Heavenly Creatures in 1994. It helped pave the way for him to get funding for his first Hollywood film, The Frighteners (1996) starring Michael J. Fox. Despite the film taking place in an American town, Jackson convinced the film commissioners to allow him to shoot it entirely in New Zealand, which helped breathe life into the New Zealand special effects company, Weta. In 1997 he finally won the film rights to The Lord of the Rings which earned 30 Oscar nominations, winning 17, including Best Picture for the final film. The trilogy turned Weta Workshop into a movie-making giant and renewed New Zealand’s tourism industry. The next decade saw Jackson directing King Kong (2005) and The Lovely Bones(2009), as well as producing films like District 9 (2009) and The Adventures of Tintin (2011). Jackson truly returned to his element when he agreed to helm The Hobbit trilogy after previously announced director Guillermo Del Toro had to back out.

It’s safe to say the movie industry owes him a lot.

Jackson will be accompanied by his Middle Earth movie stars including Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lily, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Richard Armitage, and Elijah Wood. Andy Serkis, the man who brought Gollum to life in the original Rings trilogy and the second unit director for The Hobbit, will be acting as guest speaker.

The ceremony will follow a week-long tour of movie premieres around the world including London, Paris, Canada, and Mexico celebrating the final installment of The Hobbit trilogy, The Battle of the Five Armies, which hits theaters December 17. There’s no word on an American premiere yet, but with a large portion of the cast in the country at the same time, there may be something arranged.

What are some of your favorite things about Peter Jackson’s work? Let us know in the comments!